Are You A Good Hunter?
Are you a good hunter? I'm not on about the type that goes round killing for food; but the type that 'hunts' for relatives.
You may have noticed that there's a new series of Heir Hunters on BBC1 at 9:15 on weekdays. If you've missed any you can catch up on iPlayer. But this week I'm going to talk about some of the research techniques they use that you may not.
Firstly, Social Networks. These may not seem like a great research tool, but they can be very good when finding relatives. For example, if you have a rare surname you can work back down and find a relative that's on a social networking site like Facebook. Once you have found a relative, you can message them or if they have there 'friends list' on public show you may find the rest of the family. This is one resource that 'heir hunters' like Fraser and Fraser use. Normally, teenagers and people in there 20's are on it more, so you may have to go down to there generation. But remember: not everyone is on a social networking site.
Secondly, The Electoral Roll. There are many websites that you can view the electoral roll on, these include: 192, Search Electoral Roll and many more. These can be good for finding out where relatives are. However this isn't always free and people can 'opt out' from being on these sites. Also, some people will be ex-directory, so their phone number won't be on there. Again, you can find relatives on them and get in touch, via a letter or a phone call.
Finally, The Bona Vacantia List. This is used by probate researchers to find some one to trace but not really as a research technique. The Bona Vacantia or Unclaimed Estates List can be viewed from the Government website by anyone. On the list you may find a relative and information about the deceased and you may be able to help the researchers or do you own work and make a claim yourself.
So here are three techniques you may not have come across but now you know how you can use them for your own research. If you found this weeks article interesting feel free to comment or get in contact via the contact page.
Also, this weekend Find My Past are having a free weekend from midday Friday to midday Monday. You have to sign up to be able to use this offer although you can do this for free.
Published: 5 March 2015
You may have noticed that there's a new series of Heir Hunters on BBC1 at 9:15 on weekdays. If you've missed any you can catch up on iPlayer. But this week I'm going to talk about some of the research techniques they use that you may not.
Firstly, Social Networks. These may not seem like a great research tool, but they can be very good when finding relatives. For example, if you have a rare surname you can work back down and find a relative that's on a social networking site like Facebook. Once you have found a relative, you can message them or if they have there 'friends list' on public show you may find the rest of the family. This is one resource that 'heir hunters' like Fraser and Fraser use. Normally, teenagers and people in there 20's are on it more, so you may have to go down to there generation. But remember: not everyone is on a social networking site.
Secondly, The Electoral Roll. There are many websites that you can view the electoral roll on, these include: 192, Search Electoral Roll and many more. These can be good for finding out where relatives are. However this isn't always free and people can 'opt out' from being on these sites. Also, some people will be ex-directory, so their phone number won't be on there. Again, you can find relatives on them and get in touch, via a letter or a phone call.
Finally, The Bona Vacantia List. This is used by probate researchers to find some one to trace but not really as a research technique. The Bona Vacantia or Unclaimed Estates List can be viewed from the Government website by anyone. On the list you may find a relative and information about the deceased and you may be able to help the researchers or do you own work and make a claim yourself.
So here are three techniques you may not have come across but now you know how you can use them for your own research. If you found this weeks article interesting feel free to comment or get in contact via the contact page.
Also, this weekend Find My Past are having a free weekend from midday Friday to midday Monday. You have to sign up to be able to use this offer although you can do this for free.
Published: 5 March 2015
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